Fantasy Big Board: Wide Receivers
It's all fun and games in fantasy, until someone gets hurt, or in our case, drafts the guy who gets hurt. Most of you don't know who I am, or what my knowledge level is on fantasy, and I get that. To briefly describe my history, I have mainly used cbssports.com leagues, with 12 teams, no flex position, and 5 on the bench and in a draft format where the 12th pick gets the 13th and the 1st pick gets the 24th and 25th and so on. I have played for about 10 years or so with two or more teams, and have either won or gotten second in each of the last five years (as I don't remember before that). I also won about $275 on FanDuel last season, which isn't a lot, but I only spent about $50. I'm above average for sure, and it all has to do with not only the draft, but the waiver wire as well and not buying into the wrong people.
Wide receivers, especially this season, are usually the toughest to navigate. It just seems that just about every team in the NFL outside of the NFC West (talking about you, Rams & 49ers) has at least one legitimate candidate for being a number 1 wide receiver on a fantasy team. I can find a way to make a case for all of my top 35 wide receivers on why they are a number 1 receiver, but there are definitely some better than others. What I tend to like to do is draft a really great receiver who is essentially the entire passing offense, and it helps if he has a good QB. That's why I like Julio Jones over guys like Odell Beckham Jr. Julio has Matt Ryan as a QB, no other guys around him to take the ball away from him, and best of all, he has been the lone wolf (so to speak) before and been successful doing it. Another guy in a similar boat is AJ Green of Cincinnati, but he's more injury prone and doesn't put up the same stats as Julio.
So, here are my top receivers: Julio Jones (Atlanta), Odell Beckham Jr. (NY Giants), Antonio Brown (Pittsburgh), DeAndre Hopkins (Houston), AJ Green (Cincinnati), Jordy Nelson (Green Bay), Dez Bryant (Dallas)
These guys are the cream of the crop amongst wide receivers, and outside of Jordy Nelson coming off of an ACL injury and Dez Bryant with his own injuries, there are no major concerns with this group. All of these guys should put up ten points per game weekly, and likely more.
Here is my second tier: Allen Robinson (Jacksonville), Doug Baldwin (Seattle), Sammy Watkins (Buffalo), Mike Evans (Tampa Bay), Alshon Jeffery (Chicago), Brandon Marshall (NY Jets), Larry Fitzgerald (Arizona), Amari Cooper (Oakland), TY Hilton (Indianapolis), Demaryius Thomas (Denver), Brandin Cooks (New Orleans), Emmanuel Sanders (Denver), Randall Cobb (Green Bay), Laquon Treadwell (Minnesota), Kelvin Benjamin (Carolina), Jarvis Landry (Miami), Allen Hurns (Jacksonville), Jordan Matthews (Philadelphia), Julian Edelman (New England), Golden Tate (Detroit), Steve Smith (Baltimore), Keenan Allen (San Diego), Jeremy Maclin (Kansas City), DeSean Jackson (Washington)
Big group, I know. But all of these guys could end up being among the top 12 wide receivers, and you should spend a high pick on these guys. You must have three of these guys (among tiers 1 and 2) to be successful. Some have questions, like the age of Steve Smith, Sammy Watkins' health, Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders having Mark Sanchez as a QB, and then Laquon Treadwell is a rookie. And it's doubtful Doug Baldwin will get 13 touchdowns again, but who knows? The two guys that stick out to me among this group are TY Hilton and Brandin Cooks, as they are in similar situations to that of Julio Jones. They won't be taken as high as the top seven, but I would still encourage reaching for them on a third round pick and no later than the fourth round. They are poised for a big season.
Here is tier 3: Eric Decker (NY Jets), Michael Floyd (Arizona), Josh Doctson (Washington), Vincent Jackson (Tampa Bay), Michael Crabtree (Oakland), Travis Benjamin (San Diego), Stefon Diggs (Minnesota), Tyler Boyd (Cincinnati), Markus Wheaton (Pittsburgh), Danny Amendola (New England), Victor Cruz (NY Giants), Dorial Green-Beckham (Tennessee)
These are all starting caliber wide receivers, and some have questions, and some aren't as good skill-wise as the guys before them. Victor Cruz used to be one of the best in the game, but injuries (still) have derailed his career and he isn't worth an early pick due to that. Tyler Boyd and Josh Doctson are rookies, and Dorial Green-Beckham is expected to take on a #1 role in his second year. And, with other guys around to pass to, Travis Benjamin may fall in the background a bit.
Here is the last tier, tier 4: Terrence Williams (Dallas), Marvin Jones (Detroit), Willie Snead (New Orleans), Ted Ginn (Carolina), Corey Coleman (Cleveland), Will Fuller (Houston), Donte Moncrief (Indianapolis), Pierre Garcon (Washington), Rueben Randle (Philadelphia), Tyler Lockett (Seattle), Kamar Aiken (Baltimore), Tavon Austin (Los Angeles), Torrey Smith (San Francisco), Mike Wallace (Baltimore), Jermaine Kearse (Seattle), DeVante Parker (Miami)
I wouldn't start any of these guys right away, but they are all worth a flier and a spot on a bench. I purposely stopped once I reached 60 wide receivers, since that gives every team in a twelve man league 5 receivers. But, since there are 32 teams in the NFL, this means that a lot of teams in the NFL don't have their third receiver on this list, and multiple teams don't even have two. It means that there are a ton of options in the receiving category, and some I haven't even mentioned could have a great season.
